1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses for observing protein crystals contained in a solution to discover high-quality protein crystals suitable for X-ray analysis. Specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for observing protein crystals suspended in a solution from around and/or along an optical axis in the form of a three-dimensional image to efficiently discover high-quality crystals suitable for X-ray analysis and thereby enhance the efficiency of X-ray analysis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Development of genetic drugs involves the production and X-ray analysis of protein crystals. Currently, however, high-quality crystals suitable for X-ray analysis are difficult to produce for several reasons. In a known process for observing protein crystals, screening and setting steps are repeated until high-quality crystals are discovered. This process takes much time and effort.
For known observation apparatuses, particularly, an image of crystals produced in a solution is taken with a CCD camera along the optical axis of a lens system and is processed with a computer. The resultant image, therefore, is a two-dimensional image of the crystals (in a production container) viewed perpendicularly. High-quality crystals may be invisible in this image because the crystals can overlap each other or can be hidden behind sediment. In that case, high-quality crystals are difficult to discover or may be determined to be unsuitable. The known system thus decreases the probability of discovering high-quality crystals, contributing to an increased number of screening and setting steps.